Pure Torture
by rubycaspar
Summary: A Shep whump story with a side of Sheyla. Pretty plotless. Written for the Sheyla Whump Marathon at the Gateworld JT Galleria and Discussion threads.


Disclaimer – I own none of the Stargate franchise.

This story was written at 2am, and is therefore slightly (ever so slightly) completely insane. Enjoy!

Dedicated, with love, to Elflinn.

**Pure Torture**

John gasped for breath as ice cold water stung his cheek, which was red-raw and swollen from a vicious backhand. The water trailed down his cheek and chin, so cold that it seemed to burn a trail of fire on his skin. He heard the water drip to the floor, and concentrated on the steady rhythm of the sound it made.

Drip. Drip.

It was better to concentrate on that than the pain.

Drip.

Drip.

Another stream of water hit him on the neck and he cried out at the feel of it seeping down his bruised chest. He rolled from his side onto his back, and unwillingly raised his eyes to look once more into the faces of his captors.

Identical expressions of disgust stared back at him. Hawk-like eyes took in his helpless state and cruel, humourless smiles informed him that they were not in a bargaining mood.

John tugged feebly at the rope binding his wrists, but they were bound too tightly and he had too little energy to do anything but graze them further.

The woman noticed him struggling and stepped forward. John tried to shy away but had nowhere to go – she prodded him in the shoulder with the rod she held, and John convulsed as electricity raced through his body, tearing a silent scream from his throat as every muscle in his body began to spasm painfully.

Each second felt like an hour until she broke contact, and the electricity was gone, replaced by a sharp pain that encompassed John's entire body. He lay utterly still, his eyes shut, his chest barely moving as he took shallow breaths.

"Now, you will tell us what we want to know," said the man. His voice seemed to come from so far away, but John knew better.

_What they want to know… _It had been so long since they had begun torturing him that John couldn't even remember what it was – and if he couldn't remember, than surely it wasn't that important….

"Once more, what is the code to open the shield in Atlantis?"

_The IDC…oh yeah…no! No, he couldn't give them that. He couldn't let them get through to Atlantis, to his people, his team… to Teyla. _

John kept his eyes shut and shook his head, grimacing at the pain that lanced through his skull at the movement. "No…" he said weakly.

The rod was only pressed against his shoulder for the briefest of seconds, but it was enough to send John into convulsions again. When they subsided the man spoke once more, and his voice had changed to a husky whisper.

"You will not stop us, no matter what you refuse to tell us," he said.

John forced his eyes open a crack, and saw that the man was now crouching down next to him, his eyes boring into his own.

The man smiled. An indolent, wicked smile.

"Your death will not help them," he said softly.

John gulped. This was it. This was the end.

He would not die a traitor.

"No," he repeated, throwing the last of his energy behind the word.

The smile faded from the man's face, and was quickly replaced by an expression of deepest loathing. He shrugged.

"Very well," he said. He reached into an inner pocket of his robes and removed from it an evil looking, three-bladed dagger, the metal glinting darkly in the dim light.

John closed his eyes as the man raised the dagger high above his head and drove it into his stomach.

"What _are _you doing?"

John's eyes snapped open and he raised his head. Teyla was standing in the doorway, a half amused, half exasperated look on her face.

Tagan jumped up, his baseball glove hanging limply from one hand, a water pistol in the other. He grinned at Teyla.

"We're just playing," he said.

Teyla rolled her eyes and stepped into the room. "By torturing your father with toys?" She asked.

"It's fun!" Piped up Libby, jabbing John with her fairy wand again. He grinned in response and winked up at her.

Teyla couldn't help but smile, though John could see she was trying to be authoritarian about the situation.

"Jennifer is waiting for the two of you in the recreation room," she said. "She said she promised to show you a movie…"

"Back to the Future!" Tagan cried happily. He dropped his glove and hurried out of the room so quickly that Teyla barely had time to touch the top of his head as he ran past her. Little Libby dropped her wand on top of John and ran after her elder brother.

"Wait for me!" She called out as she left the room. The doors slid shut behind her.

Teyla folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at John, who lay on the floor next to the sofa, his hands tied together with a piece of tasselled rope from one of Libby's dressing-up outfits.

"You should not encourage them," she said.

John shrugged. "Better it's me they torture than someone else," he said. He grinned. "Besides, Libby's right – it _is _fun."

Teyla shook her head but smiled as she did so, and John smiled as well. He held up his bound hands.

"A little help?" He asked.

Teyla took a few steps towards him. "Surely you can get out of that?"

John raised a sardonic eyebrow. "You'd think so, but damn that kid can tie knots…" He couldn't help the hint of pride that crept into his voice. Tagan was only nine, and Libby six, but they continuously ran circles around him. He was very content to let them.

Teyla knelt down next to John and placed a hand on his wrists, looking at the knots thoughtfully.

"You are right," she said after a moment. "These are very good knots. You are quite stuck."

John tried to move his hands but couldn't. "I know," he replied. "Could you undo them, or get some scissors or something…?"

"I could…" Teyla leant towards John, her body twisting to the side at a strange angle. Before he knew what had happened he was lying flat on his back once again, his arms stretched high above his head, and Teyla had lifted up one corner of the coffee table and lowered the leg again between his arms, trapping him in place.

John's eyes widened as Teyla leant over him, her hair swinging down like curtains either side of their faces. There was no mistaking her feral grin, or the twinkle in her eyes.

John smirked. "You got something else in mind?" He said cheekily.

Teyla quirked an eyebrow. "Well, there are few torture techniques that _I've _been meaning to have some fun with…"

_The End_


End file.
